SEC Awards Record $50 Million to Whistleblower

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced a record whistleblower award of almost $50 million. The whistleblower received the award after providing a detailed account of a company’s misconduct, which led the SEC to bring an enforcement action.  The SEC ultimately was able to return substantial amounts to harmed investors.

The $50 million whistleblower award is the largest amount that the SEC has ever paid to one person under its whistleblower program.

Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower, stated: “This award marks several milestones for the whistleblower program.  This award is the largest individual whistleblower award announced by the SEC since the inception of the program, and brings the total awarded to whistleblowers by the SEC to over $500 million, including over $100 million in this fiscal year alone.  Whistleblowers have proven to be a critical tool in the enforcement arsenal to combat fraud and protect investors.”

Whistleblowers may receive an award when they provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that results in a successful enforcement action.  Whistleblower awards typically range from 10 percent to 30 percent of collected sanctions.  The SEC makes all whistleblower payments from an investor protection fund – which is financed through sanctions paid by securities law violators.

The Dodd-Frank Act requires the SEC to protect whistleblowers’ identities.

Please contact one of our Business Trial Group attorneys at 800-816-1031 if you have information of securities fraud that you believe the SEC may be interested in prosecuting.  We regularly help tipsters navigate through the whistleblower process.

The Business Trial Group is part of the largest contingency law firm in the nation, with more than 700 lawyers and offices across the country.  We regularly battle against brokerage firms, investment advisory firms, and banks, and have helped investors recover tens of millions of dollars of investment losses.

The Business Trial Group at Morgan & Morgan will never charge hourly fees or expensive retainers.  We are only paid if we successfully recover money for you.